THE People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced that the Japanese government has decided to stop conducting year-long tests on dogs, particularly beagles, to study the potential effects of pesticides on people.

After hearing from PETA U.S. scientists for the past three years, the Japanese government made the decision to end the cruel tests wherein beagles are forced to eat pesticide-laced food or inhale pesticide fumes daily for a year and are then killed and dissected. PETA U.S. repeatedly provided evidence that data from these tests are not used to protect humans.

At the urging of PETA U.S., the U.S. ended this same test in 2007, the European Union ended it in 2013, and Canada followed suit in 2016, sparing thousands of dogs annually. Japan will now join the growing list of countries that have made the right decision for dogs and for science.

PETA U.S. and PETA Asia are urging other countries, including South Korea, to end their requirement for one-year pesticide testing on dogs, and are working to end all pesticide testing on dogs and all other animals. -- MetroPets

THE People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia is offering up to P50,000 reward for information that could help find the person or group that killed innocent cats from Dasmariñas Village in Makati City.

On Jan. 13, a dozen community cats from the posh village went missing and some were found dead, apparently from unnatural causes. In a circular released by the village management, one cat was reported to have died from chemical burns after paint thinner was poured over him.

The community cats in Dasmariñas Village have been spayed and neutered through CARA Welfare's Trap-Neuter-Return program and are fed by residents of the village. Before the cats' disappearance and deaths, a note was found saying: “You stop feeding cats. Our village is no cat sanctuary. Or else...”

The handwritten note found in Dasmariñas Village that warned about the existence of cats in the area. (photograb from Cats of Manila Facebook page)

The management and security of Dasmariñas Village are looking into the barbaric series of crimes against the cats, but so far no suspects have been identified.

"It's imperative that any community faced with a violent act such as the vicious killing of the community cats of Dasmariñas Village take measures to find the culprit or culprits and bring them to justice," says PETA Asia Vice President for International Operations Jason Baker. "Animal abusers are a danger to everyone: They take their issues out on whomever is available to them, human or nonhuman, and must be caught before they act again. We're appealing to anyone with information about those responsible for these cruel crimes to come forward now so that the perpetrator or perpetrators can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

​PETA hopes to bring the person or persons responsible for the cats' deaths and disappearances to justice. Aggravated cruelty to animals carries a penalty of up to P250,000 and three years imprisonment under the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 as amended by Republic Act No. 10631.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the PETA Asia hotline at 0999-888-7382.